First Attempt
by Puddlejumper
Summary: Alexander Rozhenko after he returns to Earth. This is my first fanfic, so please review.


Yuina sighed dramatically as she draped herself over her (really, it was just tedious) history homework as she reflected on the pointlessness of existence. She had had some respect at school, had friends; people had come to her for help, advice. Now, it was as if she was the carrier of a deadly contagious disease that was caught when someone talked to or looked at her. For Earth teenagers, they sure had a lot of fear and agitation to work out on her. Even (and as she thought this she cried inwardly) Alex hated her. This was the one thing, really, that was truly hurting her. And what had she done to deserve this? Grown up, that's what.  
Yuina walked over to the mirror and looked into her own black, round eyes. Her eyes almost always had a light in them; a light of anger, or happiness, or warmth, or sadness, even. Now they reflected her feelings quite accurately. Yuina pondered her reflection. She had a round, disarming face, thick eyebrows, a small nose, and curly black hair, which came from her mother.   
My mother, Yuina thought. The only thing her mother would say about Yuina's father was that he was Betazoid, which she now hated him for, and that Yuina got her gorgeous eyes from him. She had gotten more than that. Yuina thought of her father as the patron of everything unpleasant in herself. He had run off on her mother when she got pregnant and stayed off. Yuina liked to think of him as being alive but miserable in some hovel on a barren planet, pining for his lost daughter. Yuina shook her head and smiled mirthlessly at her fantasy. How childish. He was most probably on Betazed, which was the main reason she had refused to travel to the planet for the mental disciplines required for empathy, and another of the reasons she was having trouble now.   
Yuina's mother had tried to reduce Yuina's hatred of her runaway father, but all of her arguments were weak in the foundations, and every time she tried to talk Yuina down, Yuina ended up in her room for hours. Another punishment she felt herself above. If she could outdebate a full-grown Earth womanfamous for her silver tongue,she should be able to control some aspects of her life. And she should command respect, like she used to. No one messed with Yuina back then, except... Alex had had the nerve to stand up to her when he first came back to their Earth town, or Yuina had stood up to him, one or the other. They both still had battle scars from that not-too-distant scuffle. Yuina had broken an arm, and Alexander had dislocated his toe. She had been new in town herself at that time, but he hadn't had any hesitation about facing her. She'd had a reputation a mile long, but he hadn't shrunk back from anything when they had been friends; he took her every dare and she took all of his. Now, he was scared to death of her, all the time. Just because she made him vulnerable in the one way in which Klingons were most definitely not immune to; she knew what he was feeling. Pain, sorrow, love, disappointment, everything. She just couldn't help it, he was so... so - _feeling. _At least, she thought she had known everything about him. Lately, she couldn't have named her own emotions, let alone someone else's. Yet they still hated her. Why? Dammit, what did she do?!  
Hi, hon- oh, was all Elizabeth Pierdis had to say before she was on the bed doing that patting motion that said, Forget dignity, come and sit on my lap like a toddler and cry your heart out, for I have a desperate need to break your spirit in the form of offering comfort.'   
And then came the noise.  
That noise.  
Like fingernails on slate, Yuina hated that noise. Mother, you know I hate that noise. I don't need to know that your precious baby has gotten big and it depresses you. Please keep it to yourself. Hey, no shouting or cursing yet. For such a bad day, that was a major accomplishment.   
Well, anyone would be depressed when their laughing, happy, beautiful daughter turns into an dignity-obsessed machine who doesn't even use the word Mom anymore. You know what I think-   
Yes, I do, Mother. You think that my truest friend, and I say truest because he has less animosity towards me than most adolescents in my school_, _has been a negative influence on me.  
Ever since he moved back in with his grandparents and you beat him up-  
  
You two have been tight as twine, Elizabeth interjected, unperturbed by the interruption, And I think-   
Mother, I don't care.  
That his philosophies, appropriate as they may be for Klingons-  
Why do you insist on interfering?  
Have no place in the upbringing of a human child-  
I am not a child!  
Or a Betazoid child, for that matter. I am not-  
Are you such a control freak that you must have-  
Criticizing the Rozhenkos on their rearing of Alexander-  
Control over my entire life!  
Which, as I know from experience, is difficult-  
You can't always protect me, Mother!  
Especially in The Stage. Elizabeth called adolescence The Stage. It was a stupid and tiresome term, not to mention insulting.   
They were on the same planet, but different worlds.  
  
Alexander slammed his books down on the table and broke it. Damn, he would have to fix that before his grandparents came home. Another thing gone wrong. Conveniently enough for Father, Alexander thought, all his wrongdoings had once seemed to stem from a simple violation in The Klingon Way. Being a warrior hadn't saved him today.   
He sighed and sat down to begin his very difficult and repetitive history homework (to use the word impossible had once been to invite direct retribution, the charges being a less than devout adherence to The Klingon Way) and slammed his face into the table. It hurt. As he reflected on the stupidity of that action and his general stupidity, he got up and walked over to the kitchen.  
He pulled out some leftover salmon. That was Yuina's favorite. He ate it now to torment himself.   
For weeks he had wanted to throw himself on the floor and beg for forgiveness from his first Earth friend. He knew she knew his weakness in that manner, however, and so he was more callous than ever to her. Maybe if he talked to another Betazoid about her... oh, wouldn't that just be the most charming conversation. Yes, would you please hypnotize me so that I can apologize to the only person on Earth who can know my entire soul in the time it takes a ship to go to warp? Why of course, Alexander, I would be glad to. Alexander snorted into his plate. Any adult he asked would just lecture him on some sentimental aspect of life that he didn't understand in the slightest.  
Alexander had been shocked when he learned that Yuina was half Betazoid. He had thought they were all as understanding and kind and, frankly, soft as Deanna Troi. As it turned out, being empathic didn't make you sympathetic, it just made you a social outcast, like Yuina.  
She deserved it. Being socially ostracized was good for her. Maybe it would have her stop peeking into his soul. The worst kind of trespassing, he'd called it when she'd done it two weeks ago. He had been talking to Shin Rong, telling him a story about a battle situation he'd faced on a Klingon colony planet, when she had said, That was a gross exaggeration. There were not 5 full-grown men against you. You were barely battling one. That was when their classmates really started to get afraid. Here was an adolescent's worst nightmare, fully realized. She could call anyone's bluff whenever she wanted to. So, naturally, they made sure Yuina stayed as far away from them as possible, to avoid the chance of being hurt by a former friend and ally.  
That was wrong, Alexander was just realizing. Always slower on the uptake, eh, Alex, he thought to himself. Gee, do you think it may be, oh I dunno, offensive and small-minded to create a social outcast out of the person who had given him the chance for a normal life in his new town. It had been him. He had stopped after his first hostile advance, but he'd gotten the ball rolling. He had to stop it.  
Computer, bring up all available information on the adolescent progression of a Betazoid/human empath. Ignorance led to fear. Maybe those jackals would listen to him if there was something for them to grasp onto to lessen their fear. And maybe she would eventually even forgive him. For no one else would he do this. He had no such devotion to any other friend he'd ever had,but then, he could count the number of friends he'd had in life on one hand. He sighed at his weakness as the requested information blipped onto the screen. History would have to wait.  
  
  
It had ended just as she'd predicted. Yuina was sitting in her room, reflecting. Any outsider looking in might have mistaken it for sulking, but Yuina was much too mature for that. She was sitting on the floor, naked (ever since she could remember, Yuina had had a dislike for clothes), listening to Ella Fitzgerald pouring her soul into a song called, I Get a Kick out of You. This was a special playlist Yuina had made for such days of These days were usually rare, so Yuina usually listened to more lively music. Her most recent reflection day had been when she had fused the locking mechanism on her door (Yuina was not a technical genius, but she was smart and imaginative enough to make anything malfunction) and analyzed her feelings for Alexander which, she could now admit in a mature fashion, went slightly beyond friendship. She admired his courage. Not to mention the fact that she found him physically attractive. He was the largest male in their class and becoming bigger. His face showed all his emotions, one didn't need empathy when Alex was perfectly willing to make faces to illustrate for you. And his warrior's ridges. Yuina had seen Alexander take his shirt off once, and she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The ridges on his forehead traveled all the way back to his pants waist. He had well-developed muscles on his chest and arms and a slight dusting of facial and chest hair. Yuina's mind ran over her favorites among Alexander's attributes and mannerisms.  
This line of thought was very depressing, however, so Yuina didn't pursue it often. Alex hated her, maybe he would always fear her. She sighed and rolled over onto her back. The mushy feeling permeating throughout her lower chest cavity was going to make her sick if she stayed like this.   
Computer, stop recording. Self indulgence would get her nowhere; Alex hated her and might never get over it. Hopelessness was a waste of time and moping would make her aggressiveness atrophy. It was time to go swimming.  
As she walked towards the lake (it was a pitiful little runt of a lake, perfect for swimming), she tried to remember when she had learned to swim. It had been so long ago, it was as if Yuina had been born to water. She didn't attend swim meets because she viewed swimming as an almost religious activity. She didn't swim fast, but she swam far and even. Also, losing to anyone made her very testy. Yuina did not like to lose. As she slipped out of her robe and jumped into the water, she felt like everything would eventually sort itself out. Her mother, Alex, her classmates, her empathy, which was spotty at best, all would come back under her control.  
As she swam, Yuina remembered her old home; New Orleans, Louisiana. Yuina had grown up there, mostly. After her mother quit Starfleet to take care of her, they had moved to New Orleans, where Elizabeth Pierdis had grown up. It wasn't a huge, bustling metropolis, but there was more daily activity, more to do. She had also had friends. Of course, she hadn't become fully empathic until she moved here just a few months ago. No one was scared of her then.   
Yuina turned over on her back and floated effortlessly. In New Orleans there had been enough swimming holes to satisfy a hundred lonely kids. She had had to look long and hard for this one. Oh, there were community pools she had once frequented, but she did not truly consider that swimming, since the water was pumped full of chemicals to prevent the little kids who in the pool from contaminating those of us who had more control over our bladders. Such places were crowded and were stuffy and unnatural. Yuina sighed. Nothing could compare to swimming in a real lake. The dangers made it infinitely more interesting. There were, for instance, no water moccasins in this lake, but she had met one once in a river by Old Metarie. Alex hated swimming.  
Shit! What the hell was wrong with her? Everything reminded her of that stupid, cowardly Klingon.   
Yuina snorted in self disgust as she stomped out of the water and sat staring through the tree branches above her. As she did this, she wondered just how long she'd been in the water after all...  
  
Dammit, Yuina, aren't you even gonna come out for dinner? Elizabeth entered her daughter's room after a good hour and a half of cutting through the wall to reach the lock mechanism she'd used. She saw the clothes Yuina had been wearing on a heap on the floor and the window open.   
Oh, you are so grounded, Elizabeth mumbled to herself as she headed out the door towards the lake, So grounded.  
  
Alright, are you gonna tell me who it is, or am I gonna hafta drag it outta you with this? Helena Rozhenko gesticulated with a kitchen knife at Alexander.   
Alexander looked up, jerked unmerciflly from his reverie.  
Oh, how obvious. Tell me, how long did you think we wouldn't notice?  
Notice what? Sergy walked in and threw his bag haphazardly near the door, What'd I miss? he asked, embracing his wife.  
That Alex has a girlfriend, or hopes he will. The specifics remain unknown, film at eleven.  
What? I don't remember there being any evidence of that. Why am I always the last one to know? Why me?... Sergy's bewildered mutterings continued as he left the room, shaking his head in confusion.  
Helena gave his retreating back an affectionate smile. He was clueless, that one.  
So..? Out with it. Or, no, let me guess. You wouldn't talk if I removed your thumbnails.   
Alexander was growing increasingly uncomfortable with all the discussion surrounding his personal life and torture. He loved his grandparents, but sometimes... grrr. There are just some things that should be avoided in conversation, if only out of respect for the dignity of the person under interrogation.  
It's that Betazoid, Yuina.  
Alexander looked up quickly, then back down. How did she do that? It was disconcerting.  
Oh, you poor thing. That's the closest thing I ve seen to a Klingon blush in years. Go wash up, dinner's almost ready.  
Growling curses in Federation standard, Klingon, and several languages Yuina had taught him, Alexander skulked up to the bathroom. The way the water poured over his hands reminded him of Yuina. She would live underwater if she had the chance, he thought. The cloth he used to dry his hands was the exact same black as Yuina's hair. The soap smelled like she did in the morning. In the afternoon, after she'd been running and sweating, she smelled different, better, more like herself. When she'd sweat, her hair would stick to her face and she'd brush it back... No one else could do that one motion like that. Sweeping the hair back, looking like she might just get rid of it, it was so much damn trouble. And if you knew her, you knew she might do it, too. Yuina had practically no fear.   
Okay, Alex, I wonder how they knew you liked her? Let's hear you tell us about one second you spent today not thinking about Yuina. None? Hmm, what does that tell us? Alexander would keep up this internal conversation until he saw something else that reminded him of her, and he knew this.   
Well, only one thing to do then, Alexander muttered to himself as he jumped out of the bathroom window.  
  
Yuina lay back, still naked (she had lost the robe during her long swim.What was left of it was not enough to dress herself with), against a comfortable, hollowed-out tree root and waited. He was running, he was coming this way, but she didn't know any more than that. It's hard to listen to someone else's heart when your's is hammering away like it's going to explode any minute. Any minute, he'd be here, any minute.  
  
Would you see who that is, Sergy? My hands are kind of full right now. Helen was balancing a precariously placed pot of noodles.  
Why, certainly. There's no one else to do it, why not Sergy? Sergy who never hears about a damn thing until it smacks him right in the face... his tyrade was interrupted when he saw the distressed look on Elizabeth Pierdis' face.   
Is Yuina here?  
No, we haven't seen her for weeks. How long has she been missing? Sergy inquired.   
I'm not exactly sure, but she neglected to bring any type of clothing. Yuina's nudism was a problem Elizabeth had been trying to get her out of since Yuina was old enough to remove a diaper. Elizabeth saw it as indecent behavior and Yuina saw clothes as confining. Each had made small exceptions in this field of battle; Yuina didn't go naked in public, if she could help it and Elizabeth stopped dressing her in escape-proof pants.  
Helen could be heard yelling from the kitchen.   
  
After a brief pause in which one could hear stairs being climbed Sergy said, Well, I'm sure she's not here. Alex hasn't even left the house all day.  
Helen came rushing into the room looking like a very formiddabale, angry grandmother, Alex has gone AWOL again. Hello, Elizabeth, let me guess; missing teenager?   
Elizabeth nodded mutely. How did she do that? Weird.  
Hmmph. Well, let's go. They're probably together. Alex has been mooning all day and he is not the type to moon without doing something about it. I would rather catch them myself than have to use some infernal technological device to locate and bring them here. An irate parent is always more of a scare than a transporter beam. Elizabeth, you go that way, Sergy, over there, and I'll check the woods. Fine? Fine. Move out!  
Sergy and Elizabeth stood blinking at each other for a few seconds after the incensed Helen Rozhenko, in stomped off to the woods.   
  
How does she do that?  
  
Well, took you long enough, Yuina said, still staring straight ahead at her lake.  
Alexander, approaching her from behind, was slightly disturbed at her sensing him like that when he was still several meters away. He shook it off and covered the distance seperating them and realized he had no plan. Damn, he hadn't thought as far as getting here. Maybe she would sense what he was trying to say. Right, there's a plan. A bad plan, but a plan.  
Yuina, I... he broke off, hoping she would finish his sentence. He was becoming ever-increasingly aware of his emotional vulnerability, and that was making him very testy. She knew that, why didn't she say something? Why was she doing this to him?  
What is wrong with you! he growled, becoming more agitated by the second.  
Yuina looked up in surprise. How did he figure out she couldn't feel his emotions right now? So, he was gonna throw it in her face, huh.  
I could ask you the same question, Alex, said a very calm voice Yuina realized was hers.  
She doesn't care, Alexander thought, what kind of idiot are you, Alex?   
It- you - whoah. It became very difficult to form sentences once he chanced a glance away from Yuina's face to discover that she was totally naked. Oh, goody, I just hope I don't start drooling. This added to his rage.  
You're doing this to me on purpose, you misconstructed, illegitimate whelp of a whore!  
Yuina felt the back of her neck turn red and she stood in one swift, liquid movement, assuming the ready stance Alexander himself had taught her.  
And so what if I am doing it on purpose? No matter that she didn't know what she was doing on purpose.  
Alexander could no longer contain his anger. With an outraged yell, he threw himself at her, fists flying, throwing any kind of strategy or caution to the winds. Apparently, Yuina hadn't expected such an open attack. They both hit the ground and rolled, kicking, punching, biting, clawing, going for the eyes or any vulnerable place. Alexander managed to speak after getting Yuina's elbow off his nose, The whole time, you knew what I was trying to say and you wouldn't help me! Bastard daughter of a Betazoid coward!  
These accusations fed Yuina's anger like logs to flame.  
I couldn't sense anything more than your presence, and you knew that, you krinkle-headed freak! If you can't form your own sentences - UGH! - that's not my problem!  
Krinkle-headed?! Alexander howled with rage.  
**You knew I came to tell you I loved you! You wouldn't even listen to me!**  
Yuina stopped struggling and stood.  
she whispered.  
You - you didn't know that, did you?  
Yuina shook her head, completely dumbfounded. She sat down and placed her head in her hands, trying to reorganize her world according to what she had just learned. Yuina did not consider herself to be desirable in any fashion; her build was muscular, she was the largest girl in her class. She did not constanly obsess about her weight, but she had permanently categorized herself as the girl who would have no romantic relations of any sort; with another classmate, an aquaintance from a sports team, or anybody else. This was not self deprecation; to Yuina, it was fact. The word used in that context was slightly overwhelming. Suddenly, she looked up, relieved and sad. Of course, she thought, he had exaggerated. His love and her love were probably two entirely different things. Who knew what love meant to a Klingon? But at least she would be honest with him. He could leave in disgust if he wanted, but she was no coward. She would never leave someone who loved her. If there was any chance at all...  
Define love,' please. Oh, great, very smooth, there, Yuina. He's probably gonna launch himself at you again.  
But Alexander didn't have any anger left in him. All of his energy was going into the effort it took to not run away and hide. He feared nothing... but her rejection.  
thinking about you every spare second, inability to connect to reality because everything I see, hear, touch, or taste makes me realize that I want to be with you, a disease who's only cure is your presence.  
Then she did the one thing he had been dreading even as he'd walked to her lake;  
she laughed.  
She laughed long and she laughed hard and when she was done she just looked at him with tears in her eyes from her mirth at his expense.  
Alex, I love you. All those things you just listed, those are my symptoms. Please, please, don't leave. Ever.  
I promise, he whispered huskily.  
She stared at him like he would disappear if she blinked.  
I promise, he said louder, confidently and held his hand out to her.  
There you are! You are in so much trouble, young man, it is yet to be determined when you will next see the light of day! Here, Helena Rozhenko tossed a robe to Yuina, Dress yourself, you must be freezing. your mother has a few things to say to you, too, Yuina, among them I'm sure will be a discussion regarding your roaming about with boys, senza clothing.  
Helena pulled out a communications device. I've found them, meet me back at the house.  
  
The most disconcerting part of all this, Helena thought, was that the two errant adolescents showed no sign of shame at being chastised, no groans when their sentences had been announced. The whole time, they had just been staring at each other in a love-struck euphoria. Yuina had obviously reciprocated Alexander's probably bumbling proclamation of affection. Helena was not sure if she completely approved of this, but, really, she had no choice. It _would _happen, with or without her approval. The both of them had determination enough to stop a moon's orbit, spirit enough to light a wet pile of logs. Nothing short of a total Armaggedon would stop them from seeing each other, which meant, of course, that Helena would have to set a new program to catch Alex in the act of sneaking out. He did a very thorough job destroying the last one.  
  
  
Elizabeth Pierdis was speechless. Had any of her coworkers been there to witness the spectacle, they would have marked their calendars. Elizabeth Pierdis always had something to say. She had given Yuina's father a few choice words, or at least, given his mother a few choice words. Actually, many choice words, in many languages; Elizabeth shared her daughter's fondness for the exotic curses of other cultures. But now...  
What were you - Elizabeth broke off, resumed pacing until she could better organize her thoughts.  
Yuina was suddenly hit in the face with the fact that she may be in physical danger, such was her mother's rage.  
Um - so, Mom... are you angry at me?  
What?! Angry?! Elizabeth marveled at that girl's insensitivity, at her ineptitude with Federation Standard language. That is not my daughter, she thought.  
No, I'm not angry...  
But -   
I'm MAD! Elizabeth started towards her daughter which startled Yuina slightly. Not that anything could have truly stirred her at that point, she was still off in lala-land.  
Go to your room.  
  
Elizabeth looked up in surprise to see a stranger walking toward her bedroom without arguing, snorting, sighing, or stomping her feet.   
  



End file.
